On Wednesday, March 1, the Carrollton Board of Education announced its decision as to who would become the new superintendent of the district. There were twelve candidates for the position. The board, however, decided on former Carrollton High School (CHS) principal, Mr. Dave Davis.
Davis has served the Carrollton district most of his career, starting out as a teacher in 1996. He taught math at CHS for four years, and then became the assistant principal for another four years, before finally landing on principal– a position that he has held ever since.
Davis is an alumnus, having graduated from Carrollton in 1985. Following graduation, he attended The Ohio State University, eventually transferring to The University of Mount Union, where he obtained a degree in math and education. He later obtained a master’s in educational administration from Ashland University and a superintendent’s license from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
When describing his motivation to move from the classroom to administration, Davis states, “As a teacher, I was helping my kids, but I felt like as an administrator, I can help all the teachers to be able to help all the kids, instead of just the ones that I have in my class.”
As superintendent, Davis feels that his role to an extent is “to stay out the way.” He states, “I’ve never believed that I have all the answers, so I don’t think I have the magic ticket to make us great.” Rather, he credits the teachers, students, parents, and the community as the source of the district’s greatness. However, he does mention that the district will be laying the groundwork for the new elementary school beginning in May and hopes to open the completed K-12 campus in the fall of 2025, which he describes as “a pretty cool thing to be able to bring together.” He also says that he wants to continue making sure teachers have what they need and that students are kept safe.
Davis believes that the roles of superintendent and principal are very similar. “The biggest difference,” he says, “is [the superintendent’s office] is separated from the building.” Furthermore, he adds that as superintendent, he will now be working with the elementary school as well, which is new for him.
Overall, Davis says that “nervous and excited” are a good description of his feelings moving forward. “This is new; it’s something that I haven’t done,” he explains. Interestingly, whereas many of his responsibilities as principal were written down, he did not receive a “guide” outlining his responsibilities as superintendent. As a result, he has had to learn everything “on the fly.” Fortunately, he expresses that he has had great mentors that have helped him along the way. “But, I’m excited,” he says. “It’s a neat new chapter. Just the opportunity to lead the district where I’ve been my entire career is exciting, for sure.”
Having been in education for so many years, Davis has gained a lot of insight and experience. Moreover, he has personally seen education change over time, which he expresses mixed feelings about. While he recognizes that the use of technology has certainly been helpful to some, he also acknowledges that some students may thrive on more traditional methods. In general, though, he appreciates many of the changes that have been made. “Now, we’re working with how to get along with each other, how to find somebody that you really don’t like, but you have to actually walk around the building and be nice to. And that has to happen…You’re going to do that the rest of your life,” Davis says.
Davis says that his most challenging moment as an administrator involved the passing of Terry Wright. Wright was a Carrollton graduate, who died in service to our country while stationed in Afghanistan. The family wanted to hold the funeral in the high school gym. Davis was adamant about honoring their wishes, but received some pushback from those who believed canceling school to host the ceremony was not in the best interest of the students. Ultimately, it was decided that the ceremony would be held in the gym. “This is a kid that I had in class,” Davis said, becoming somewhat emotional. “This is a kid that we dealt with for years…To have a former student that joined the service and then was killed in service to our country was tough.”
Davis credits his career successes to a wide variety of people, many of which were involved in his childhood and adolescent years. However, he says that two people, in particular, have influenced him professionally: Nilah Ankrom and Ron Vrabel, his history and math teachers, respectively. Ankrom taught him much about “what teachers do and how teachers interact with their students beyond the classroom…She was at our graduation parties and weddings,” Davis states. “She cared; she was always there.” Ron Vrabel, Davis states, was both his teacher, as well as someone he student-taught with while in college. They also worked together for several years in the Carrollton district. “[He] was able to always help everyone in a situation understand…make good decisions, be able to rationally decide, weigh both sides’ pros and cons,” Davis states. Davis also describes Vrabel as someone who was “always smiling, always joking.” Even after Vrabel's retirement, the two of them kept in touch. Unfortunately, Vrabel has since passed in recent years, but Davis will always remember him as “a great guy” that he “learned a lot from him.”
If Davis could leave the students he serves with one piece of advice, it would be: “Pay it forward.” “Emerson says, ‘You must pay forward because you can so seldom pay back,’” Davis continues, “Everyone has a hand in getting you where you are to where you’ve been. And there will be an equal number or more that have a hand in getting you to where you’re going to go…If we can pay forward consistently, then how good that next generation becomes.”